title: The dilemma of the symbols: analogies between philosophy, biology and artificial life.
abstract: This article analyzes some analogies going from Artificial Life questions about the symbol-matter connection to Artificial Intelligence questions about symbol-grounding. It focuses on the notion of the interpretability of syntax and how the symbols are integrated in a unity ("binding problem"). Utilizing the DNA code as a model, this paper discusses how syntactic features could be defined as high-grade characteristics of the non syntactic relations in a material-dynamic structure, by using an emergentist approach. This topic furnishes the ground for a confutation of J. Searle's statement that syntax is observer-relative, as he wrote in his book "Mind: A Brief Introduction". Moreover the evolving discussion also modifies the classic symbol-processing doctrine in the mind which Searle attacks as a strong AL argument, that life could be implemented in a computational mode. Lastly, this paper furnishes a new way of support for the autonomous systems thesis in Artificial Life and Artificial Intelligence, using, inter alia, the "adaptive resonance theory" (ART).
authors.affiliation: Department of Philosophy, Sapienza University of Rome, via Carlo Fea n.2, 00161 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Spadaro
keywords: Analogy-making; Artificial life; Binding problem; Cognitive robotics & AI; Connectionism; Genetic code; Theories of syntax